Ball-point pens



J. V. R. HELITAS BALL-POINT PENS June 2, 1964 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed-March 14, 1962 3.. oz 3 5 f Q2 mfl we 5 02 F. i m

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United States Patent 3,135,242 BALL-POINT PENS Jules Victor Robert Heiitas, Asnieres, France, assignor to Societe (lite: A. J. Fagard & Cie, Paris, France Filed Mar. 14, 1962, Ser. No. 179,677 Claims priority, application France Mar. 17, 1961 4 Claims. (Cl. Hit-42.13)

The present invention relates to ball-point pens, and more particularly to ball-point pens of the type having a tubular member which is closed at the end opposite to the writing end by a cap.

Up to the present, the cap or closure element is 1n most cases secured to the pen body either by screwing or by a force fit.

When a cap is screwed to the body it is not possible to obtain the same relative angular position of the body and of the cap for each screwing on of the cap, which thereby prevents the use of ornamental designs either on one or the other of these members, since the correspondence of position of such designs is not insured.

The second method of fixation creates problems which are difficult to solve when it is subsequently necessary to dismantle the pen.

It is an object of the present invention to provide assembling means between a ball-point pen body and a cap which overcome these disadvantages.

It is a particular object of the invention to provide an assembly device between a body and a cap which maintains between the two members a constant position of assembly which is strictly defined both longitudinally and angularly.

therefore particularly suitable for mass production.

A further object of the invention is to provide a device of this type which remains effective over long periods of time.

Yet another object of the invention is to provide a device of the above type in which the presence of the said device is wholly concealed to the user.

The invention is especially directed to a retractable ball-point pen and in particular, although not in any limitative sense, to a pen of this type which is designed for the purpose of providing selectable writing devices for writing in several colors.

Pens are already known of the type having a body containing a number of ball-point cartridges which are held by a support and which can be moved selectively into the Writing position, the moving of one ball into the writing position having the effect, as a result of a spring action, of retracting that ball which had previously been in the outwardly extended or writing position.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to provide improvements in a pen of this type which make the same more easy to operate than pens of known types, which furnish the same with a pleasing appearance, which can be used for a long period of time while nevertheless retaining its good initial operation, which is easy to manufacture and which is suitable for manufacture in accordance with mass production methods.

Patented June 2, 1964 desired fixation position, the lug being designed to pass through both windows;

(3) The lug can be caused to withdraw;

(4) The withdrawal action of the said lug is of an elastic nature;

(5) The lug is formed at the end of one arm of an elastically-opening U-shaped member;

(6) The said member is housed in the interior of the pen body with the other arm thereof applied against the said body;

(7) Elastic means are provided for the purpose of carrying out a longitudinal biassing action between the body and the cap;

(8) The said longitudinal action has a tendency to move the cap away from the pen body;

(9) The said elastic means consists of a block of rubber or the like;

(10) As an alternative form, the said elastic means consists of a spring interposed between the rim of the pen body and the base of the cap;

(11) The windows through which the lug passes are located opposite the gripping clip which is provided for detachably securing the pen to a garment or the like.

In the case of a ball-point pen and especially, although not exclusively, a ball-point pen of the type comprising a number of Writing devices for Writing in different colors, the invention is additionally characterized by the following features considered either separately or in combination:

(12) Each of the springs provided for the purpose of returning a cartridge support into its withdrawn or retracted position is a spiral spring which works in ten- SlOIl;

(13) The spring is provided at one end thereof with one or a number of turns having a larger diameter and serving for the purpose of securing the said spring;

(14) A cartridge support comprises a socket inside which is inserted the other end of the spring, the attachment of this end being eiiected by means of a constricted portion of the said socket;

(15) That end of the spring which is located inside the socket has a concave incurved profile in the vicinity of the said constricted portion;

(16) The locking strip or blade on which is formed the lug provided for the purpose of rigidly fastening the pen body and cap together forms part of the internal structure of the ball-point pen, the said locking strip or blade being interposed between a recessed disc designed for the purpose of securing the ends of the springs and a partition which limits the movement of withdrawal of the cartridge supports.

In the description which follows below and which is given by way of example, reference is made to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is an elevation view in longitudinal crosssection of a ball-point pen having writing devices of several colors, in one form of embodiment in accordance with the invention; 7

FIG. 2 is a view of a portion of the body which forms part of the ball-point pen of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a view in elevation of an internal drum;

FIG. 4 is a view in longitudinal cross-section on a larger scale, of the top portion of the ball-point pen shown in FIG. 1, certain members having been omitted for the sake of clarity;

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 4, and is a crosssection taken along the line 55 of FIG. 6;

FIG. 6 is a view in cross-section taken along the line 6-6 of FIG. 4, certain members having been omitted for the sake of clarity;

FIG. 7 is a view in cross-section taken along the line 77 of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 8 is a front view of a portion of the cap and of a portion of the pen body prior to assembly.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 1 to 8. In the form of embodiment which has been shown in the drawings, the ball-point pen comprises a cylindrical body 120, as shown in FIG. 1, which terminates at the front end in a tapered portion 121. In the body are formed longitudinal grooves, the number of which is the same as the number of cartridges or writing devices which the said body is designed to accommodate, which is four in the illustrated embodiment. The said grooves, which are designated by the reference 122 as shown in FIG. 2, have a narrow portion 123 and a widened portion 124. Assuming that the pen is held with the ball directed downwardly, the pen body is also provided nearer to the top end thereof with a rectangular, longitudinal slot or window 125 (as shown in FIG. 8), the long sides of which are designated by the reference numerals 126 and 127 and the short sides of which are designated by the reference numerals 128 and 129. In the form of embodiment as shown, the pen body 120 and the portion 121 form two parts which are joined together permanently in overlapping relation, with the rim 136 of the portion 121 constituting an abutment for a drum 131 which is housed inside the pen body 120 and in which are formed elongated slots forming slideways which are four in number and are designated by the reference numeral 132 (as shown in FIG. 3), there being formed in each slotted portion an abutment shoulder 133 and an inclined ramp 134. Each slotted portion 131 is located opposite a groove 122, and a slider 135 provided with a wide external portion or operating head 136 and with a narrowed portion 137 is adapted to pass through each slotted portion and each oppositely facing groove. Each slider is rigidly fixed to a socket 138 which terminates in a flattened section 139, the purpose of the said flattened section being to provide for the pivotal mounting of the slider about a pin 140 on a cylindrical support 141 which terminates for this purpose in two fiattened arms 142. The cylindrical supports 141 are split in such manner as to permit frictional engagement with a conventional cartridge 143 which terminates in a writing ball 144.

In the interior of each socket 138, and inside the passage 145 which is formed in the said socket, there is housed the end of a spiral spring 146, as shown in FIG. 5. The said spring has juxtaposed coils in the inactive or non-extended condition and the end of that portion of the said spring which is housed in the interior of the socket 138 has a concave outline as can be clearly seen in FIG. 5, that is to say, the diameter of the spring is constant over the major part of its length as shown at 147, then the diameter decreases progressively to a narrow section 148 and increases again to the last coils or turns 149 which have substantially the same diameter as the coils of the portion 147. After insertion of the spring 146, the socket 138 is constricted to the depth of the narrow sec tion 148, with the result that the internal outline of the said socket as seen in longitudinal cross-section follows substantially, and as shown at 150, the profile or outline of that portion 151 of the spring which has a variable diameter and which has just been described. The attachment of one end of a spring inside a socket is thus carried out in a simple manner.

The other end of the spring has two end coils of a larger diameter than that of the portion 147, and designated by the reference numeral 152. The said coils serve for the purpose of securing the spring inside a disc 153 in which are formed notches 154 (FIG. 6). The end coils of larger diameter may be fewer or greater than two. The said notches are displaced angularly by 90 as shown in FIG. 6, and have in cross-section a semi-cylindrical portion 155 which is extended by two flat portions 156 and 157. A seating 159 is formed in each notch by means of a milling operation in the top face 153. By

inserting the cylindrical portion of a spring 146 in a lateral direction in a notch 154, the said spring is caused to penetrate to the bottom of the said notch, following which, as a result of a longitudinal displacement, the inner turn of those coils 152 of the spring which have a larger diameter are brought into contact with the seating 159, thereby effecting the second attachment of the spring.

There is formed in the bottom face 166 of the disc 153 a diametrical groove 161 in Which is housed the top edge 162 of a blade 163 of spring steel which is cut-out in the shape of a U with two arms 164 and 165 as shown in FIG. 4, there being formed at the end of one of the said arms a lug 166 which is bounded by an outer edge 167, a bottom edge 168 and an upper edge 169, the said edges being at right angles to each other. The external edges 179 and 171 of the U have in the vicinity of their point of attachment an outline which corresponds to that of the cap 172 of the ball-point pen, and in those portions 173 and 174 of the edges which cooperate with the pen body 126, the said edges have a contour which corresponds to that of the said body. A rounded cut-out portion 175 increases the flexibility of the blade-spring insofar as concerns the closure and separation of the bladearms.

The cap 172 is provided with a window or slot 176 (as shown in FIG. 8) which has the same shape as the window 125 with two longitudinal sides 177 and 178 and two transverse sides 179 and 180. The windows 125 and 176 are in facing relation and permit the passage therethrough of the lug 166 which thereby positionally locks one window with respect to the other. The assembly or disassembly of the cap with respect to the body requires merely the withdrawal of the lug from the aligned windows 125, 176, this being effected by the application of pressure on the bottom edge 167 of the said lug, for example by means of a tool designed for this purpose.

A partition 181 is interposed between the bottom edge 182 of the blade and the top edge 183 of the drum 131. The said partition has cut-out portions 184 (as shown in FIG. 7) which are similar to the cut-out portions 154 and which accordingly provide a passage for the spring 146, The said partition 181 serves as a bearing face for the top rims 185 of the sockets 138.

Inside a central orifice 186 which is formed in the cap 172 and which has an incurved edge 187, there is inserted a metallic plug 183 on which is formed a bearing shoulder 189 and which is subjected to the action of elastic pressure of a block 190 of rubber or the like, the opposite face of the said block being applied against the top face 158 of the disc 153.

The clip 191 is rigidly fixed to the cap 172 by means of stirrups 132 and 193; the said clip being located above the windows 125 and 176 through which the lug 166 passes.

The replacement of one writing ball by another writing ball is effected by means of the usual pushing action applied to a slider head 136, the forward movement of the slider 135 along the drum 131 having the effect of producing automatically in known manner the withdrawl of that ball which was previously in the writing position as shown in French Patent 823,652.

The spring 146 of a cartridge which is in the retracted or withdrawn position is in the inactive or non-extended condition and its coils contact one another. When the corresponding cartridge is moved towards the writing position as a result of action produced on the slider, the spring is subjected to tension and, due to theconsiderable length of said spring, the force required to be applied to the slider is relatively small. When the slider of that cartridge which is in the writing condition is released from the shoulder 133, the said cartridge is moved rearwardly as a result of the action of the spring which has been put under tension during the previous withdrawal, until the rim 185 of the Cartridge support comes into The assembling and dismantling of the different parts of the pen is easy and follows from the description which is given above. The assembly and removal of the cap with respect to the pen body will be explained in detail below. In order to place the cap in position, it is merely necessary to slide the cap 172 over the body in a down wardly direction, after previously fitting the blade 163 into the interior of the said cap with its lug 16%? passing through the window 176. The lug 166 is retracted, for example by means of a tool designed for the purpose, thereby preventing the edge 168 of the said lug from contacting the edge of the body and thus permitting the said body to slide past the window 176. At the end of the downward displacement of the cap 172 over the body, the edge 182 of the blade 163 which is in contact with the partition 181, will compress the elastic block 190. When the window 125 appears opposite the lug 166, the said lug penetrates inside the said slot by virtue of a trip-release action and as a result of the elasticity of the blade 163, the arm 165 of which is applied along the blade-edge 171 against the cap 172, and the lug thus locks the cap and the body together in the requisite position, both longitudinally and angularly. The keying in a pre-determined angular position of the body and of the cap ensures that the decorative designs which can be provided on these members are in the proper relative positions. The action of the elastic block 190 has a tendency to move the cap 172 away with respect to the pen body 120 to bias the same and thereby prevent any displacement, however small such a displacement may be, between the pen body and the cap. The windows 125 and 176 as well as the edge 167 of the lug are covered by the clip 191 and therefore are concealed. The dismantling operation is carried out in the reverse manner, a tool being provided for the purpose of depressing the edge 167 so as to permit the release of the lug 166 with respect to the window 125.

It will become apparent to those skilled in the art to modify and vary the disclosed embodiment without departing from the invention as defined in the following claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a writing tool: a tubular body having a writing end and an opposite open end, a tubular cap telescopically supported on the tubular body to close said open end, a longitudinal window being provided in said body and a corresponding longitudinal window of the same longitudinal extent of the first said Window being provided in said cap, the two windows being superposed, a diametrical spring steel plate supported within said cap and having arms and a bottom arranged in U-shape, an outer lateral lug on one of said arms passing through both windows, the other of the arms having an outer side in contact with the inner surface of the cap, elastic means between the plate and the cap to urge the latter away from said body and urge the plate and the lug thereon towards said body such that said lug contacts the cap and body which respectively bound the windows formed therein, a drum mounted inside said body and having a front end bearing against the latter, and a transverse disc constituting a partition between said drum and the arms of the U-shaped plate.

2. In a writing tool according to claim 1, comprising a disc slidingly mounted in the portion of the cap remote from said barrel, a diametrical groove being provided in said disc, said plate being supported in said groove of the disc, said elastic means including a block of elastic material bearing against said cap and urging said disc forwardly, notches in said disc in regularly spaced angular relation, and cut-out portions being provided in said partition in correspondence with the notches in the disc.

3. In a writing tool as claimed in claim 2, wherein said U-shaped plate opens towards said writing end of the tubular body, said bottom of the plate being supported in the notch of the disc, said outer lug being located on said one arm at an end thereof remote from said bottom of the plate, said lug having a size corresponding to the extent of the windows for being tightly fitted therein.

4. In a writing tool: a tubular body having a writing end and an opposite open end, a tubular cap telescopically supported on the tubular body to close said open end, a longitudinal window being provided in said body and a corresponding longitudinal window of the same longitudinal extent of the first said window being provided in said cap, the two windows being superposed, a diametrical spring steel plate supported within said cap and having arms and a bottom arranged in U-shape, an outer lateral lug on one of said arms passing through both windows, the other of the arms having an outer side in contact with the inner surface of the cap, elastic means between the plate and the cap to urge the latter away from said body and urge the plate and the lug thereon towards said body such that said lug contacts the cap and body which respectively bound the windows formed therein, a slidable disc supported in said cap, a diametrical groove being provided in said disc, said plate being accommodated and supported in the groove in said disc, said elastic means including a block of elastic material bearing against the cap and urging said disc forwardly.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 851,893 Lippincott Apr. 30, 1907 2,250,042 Sundt July 22, 1941 2,546,387 Coflins Mar. 27, 1951 2,603,187 Goos July 15, 1952 2,800,737 Crossman July 30, 1957 2,833,251 Boyle May 6, 1958 2,867,287 Armstrong Jan. 6, 1959 2,973,870 Schoos Mar. 7, 1961 FOREIGN PATENTS 136,080 Sweden Oct. 5, 1950 547,483 Italy Aug. 30, 1956 

1. IN A WRITING TOOL: A TUBULAR BODY HAVING A WRITING END AND AN OPPOSITE OPEN END, A TUBULAR CAP TELESCOPICALLY SUPPORTED ON THE TUBULAR BODY TO CLOSE SAID OPEN END, A LONGITUDINAL WINDOW BEING PROVIDED IN SAID BODY AND A CORRESPONDING LONGITUDINAL WINDOW OF THE SAME LONGITUDINAL EXTENT OF THE FIRST SAID WINDOW BEING PROVIDED IN SAID CAP, THE TWO WINDOWS BEING SUPERPOSED, A DIAMETRICAL SPRING STEEL PLATE SUPPORTED WITHIN SAID CAP AND HAVING ARMS AND A BOTTOM ARRANGED IN U-SHAPE, AN OUTER LATERAL LUG ON ONE OF SAID ARMS PASSING THROUGH BOTH WINDOWS, THE OTHER OF THE ARMS HAVING AN OUTER SIDE IN CONTACT WITH THE INNER SURFACE OF THE CAP, ELASTIC MEANS BETWEEN THE PLATE AND THE CAP TO URGE THE LATTER AWAY FROM SAID BODY AND URGE THE PLATE AND THE LUG THEREON TOWARDS SAID BODY SUCH THAT SAID LUG CONTACTS THE CAP AND BODY WHICH RESPECTIVELY BOUND THE WINDOWS FORMED THEREIN, A DRUM MOUNTED INSIDE SAID BODY AND HAVING A FRONT END BEARING AGAINST THE LATTER, AND A TRANSVERSE DISC CONSTITUTING A PARTITION BETWEEN SAID DRUM AND THE ARMS OF THE U-SHAPED PLATE. 